How to Enable USB Debugging in Android Phones

This is a quick guide on how to enable USB debugging in Android 6.0 Marshmallow or Android 7.0 Nougat and previous versions. USB debug mode in Android allows you to connect your phone / tablet / any Android device with the computer and use Android SDK with it. You can take screenshots, take a log of your phone or even test live apps as you develop etc. The option for enabling or disabling USB debugging is available on every Android device, but is usually disabled by default.

Developer option such as this puts your phone into debug mode as soon as you connect your device with a USB cable to a PC or Mac or Linux computer. For instance, a few custom file managers such as HandShaker requires this option to be enabled first; allowing the phone to interface with your computer. We also recommend enabling this USB debugging option when you plan on performing any actions related to ADB on your phone.

How to Enable USB Debugging in Developer Options

Like with every new Android release, Google keeps changing and shuffling around various Android options. USB Debugging option has slightly changed in the recent releases. Since the release of Android 4.2, Google has complete buried the “Developer options” deep inside so that regular users cannot access it — or will end up messing around their basic Android settings.

So, the new settings can be accessed by following these steps:

Step 1 – Go to Settings > About phone

Step 2 – Next, scroll down till you see Build number field.

Step 3 – Tap on this field for about 7-8 times till you see the message on your screen that you are a developer!

Step 4 – Now go back to the main Settings screen and scroll down till you see the new enabled Developer options option.

How to Enable USB Debugging in Android 4.2 Phones

Google has slightly changed how you can enable USB debugging in Android 4.2. They have hidden the entire Developer options section for people who are not much into developing or using those tools. For more details on how to get it back, read here!

How to Enable USB Debugging in Android 4.0 Phones

Here is how you can enable USB debugging on phones that are on Android 4.0 or later.

Go to Settings.

Scroll down and tap “Developer options”.

Now check “USB debugging” from there.

That’s it. USB debugging is now enabled on your Android phone.

How to Enable USB Debugging in Android 2.3 Phones

Here is how you can enable USB debugging on phones that are on Android 2.3 or earlier.